“It’s been a few days, sister.” Daphne said, giving Sunset a smile. True it was a little hard to see it through the golden aura, especially around the mask, but Sunset was able to make it out. Once again they seemed to be underwater, a fact that really should have bothered Sunset, but she knew she was safe.

“I still don’t know if I believe it.” Sunset sighed, “I’m still not convinced that this isn’t some weird recurring dream.”

“I understand your apprehension, Bloom.” Daphne said, swallowing when Sunset shot her a glare. “I mean Sunset. I do understand it sister, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve missed you so much, missed so much of your life. Doesn’t change the fact that I love you dearly.”

“I don’t know what to say, I don’t even know you really. Do I want to if you really are my sister? Of course I do, a real family is all I ever really wanted...” Sunset said, rubbing at her eyes. How could tears be forming in them if they were underwater?

“I’m a nymph, Sunset. I’m also the guardian of Sirenix.” Daphne said, as if that explained anything.

“Are you reading my mind?” Sunset asked, crossing her arms and glaring at the woman before her.

“I would love to so I could see more of your past, but I wouldn’t do that to you. I pretty much guessed what you were thinking.” Daphne said.

“You know what, if this is real and you are my sister, then look all you want.” Sunset groused, looking away. Daphne floated close and pulled the fiery haired teen into a hug.

“Sunset, no matter what I love you and you are my sister. I can tell you how to find out yourself though while proving who you are.” Daphne said, pulling back a bit.

“How?” Sunset asked, wanting to see if there was really a way to prove if this was all real or not.

“Hey, Sunset!” Musa called, making Sunset pull back more and turn to look. As she blinked the scene shifted from the underwater grotto to her bed where Musa just dropped down on the edge. “You asked if I would wake you up before I went to do my dance routines.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Sunset grumbled, running her fingers through her hair. What was Daphne going to tell her? Should she talk to Stella about it? Quickly squashing that chain of thought, she looked up at Musa knowing that it could be painful for Stella if this all turned out to be nothing but strange dreams since coming to this world had turned everything upside down for her.

“What did you want to get up so early for?” Musa asked as she got back up and stretched.

“I want to head out and ride my bike before I meet up with Brandon later.” Sunset explained, not going into detail about wanting to test out what magic she can still use as a fairy and test some of her powers a bit before school actually begins tomorrow. She wanted to do it away from Alfea though so nobody would pick up on her using dark magic if that was what fueled her powers here. She couldn’t help wondering if she should be afraid of it after the Fall Formal, but decided it was better to control it before it could control her again.

“Sisters, I don’t know if we should even be doing this anymore!” Stormy whined as she followed her older sisters out of Cloud Tower. Unlike her sisters, this was her first year here and she didn’t have the experience they did. Of course their benefactors gave them boosts in their power, but they demanded that they retrieve the Dragon Flame and their only clue to it was the Ring of Solaria. The problem was the dark fairy that so far has defeated them once and humiliated them another time.

“Don’t you want to get back at that stupid fairy for our humiliation?” Icy growled out.

“I’m in the middle here, sisters. While I would do anything to fulfill our goal, this dark fairy is dangerous. You know what the three said about the last dark fairy and how she not only devastated an entire planet, but also sealed our mothers away.” Darcy said, rubbing her shoulder where it was still sore from hitting it when the blast sent her flying away from the booby-trapped ring box. “We may be in over our heads.”

“Nonsense, they can give us more power and give us a chance to get revenge on that fire haired menace!” Icy growled, eyes widening as her gaze shifted off into the distance. “Did you feel that?”

“That was a large release of dark magic.” Darcy gasped in awe.

“Let's go sisters, we have to see what is going on. This could be our chance!” Icy grinned as the other two gave her worried looks while holding their arguments.

Equestrian Magic

1-Teleportation

As shown when I teleported at the dance, I can still do it here. I can do it for a short distance untransformed, even farther when I am transformed.

2-Telekinesis

Takes a lot more concentration when untransformed, and still a large amount when transformed. Better off not relying on controlled telekinesis, especially in a battle, but I’ve found I can use a quick release of it to create a small push of force. It does seem to take a more noticeable amount of magic than anything else I’ve tried so far.

3-Shield

It seems it is much easier to create a shield here than back in Equestria. It was something I always struggled with as a unicorn, yet even untransformed here it is so much easier. Unlike in Equestria, my shields seem to be fire based rather than magical energy based.

4-Fire

Easiest spell so far, and while I was able to use a little untransformed, I was able to control it beyond even what I could do in Equestria.

So far these are my main worries as far as Equestrian Magic experimentation goes. Most other spells I remember her teaching me were mostly parlor tricks to entertain a foal and pranks such as the one I pulled on the witches.

“Great, I can’t even say her name on paper!” Sunset groaned, dropping her hands and looking up to the sky. The small flip styled notebook in one hand and pen in another as she gathered her thoughts on what she’s done so far, the results a mixed bag. She really liked having her telekinesis as a unicorn and lamented the loss of it a second time now. She was ecstatic at the increase of control when using fire and shields. As for her teleportation, she would be able to teleport outside the school walls to her bike without anyone knowing yet wouldn’t be able to teleport straight to the city like she had hoped. Going back to her notes, she continued going over the results of her experimenting so far.

Dark Magic

While I do have a healthy fear of this, especially after the demon incident, everyone is telling me it is fine. They keep telling me it is normal and a natural element of magic that doesn’t make one evil. While I worry about it, I can’t just rely on the few tricks from being a unicorn and maybe it is about time I accept that this is a part of me. I’m going to be learning magic at Alfea and if everything goes well this year, if Stella and Radius still want me as family, this will be a part of my world.

Cloaking

I’ve had a little success with this, but I can’t hold it for long and so far I haven’t managed to mask sound. I need a lot more practice with this.

Lightning

I’ve actually managed this, yet not from the spell in the grimoire. Lightning is just superheated plasma which is just another form of fire. While I wouldn’t call it a full success, it isn’t a full out failure. Since I can’t really control it yet, it would be safer not to use it against anyone other than monsters as I can’t pull punches with it. It might be safer not to use it on monsters either as I can’t exactly predict the arc yet as well. Don’t want bystanders getting struck if the arc goes wide.

So far this is all I’ve had a chance to try out, and it is getting close to time to leave if I’m going to make it back into the city on time. There are so many more spells I am eager to try, but so far these are the most important to me as they seem the most useful in protecting myself and friends.

Walking over to her bike, she stuffed the notebook and pen into the bag there. She loved the bike a lot, even if the girls didn’t understand why she wanted one seeing how as a fairy she could fly. It was the same type of hoverbike as the Specialist at first look other than the color scheme. Hers had a matching helmet with both being black with red flames that were enchanted to change colors, including into black to create a solid color. It also had a feature that would create wheels like a normal motorcycle if she ever had to take it to a world without magic so it could blend in. The salesperson swore it was a rare feature that not even the specialist used, but Tecna said they were full of it as the only true difference besides color was it was created with a civilian in mind so wasn’t as powerful or sturdy.

“Was all of that you?” A familiar voice asked from behind Sunset, making her jump a little. Turning around slowly, Sunset had to keep from facepalming at the show of surprise as she looked to see Brandon on his own bike, helmet in his hands.

“Maybe?” Sunset said with a nervous grin. She really wasn’t supposed to be practicing magic like this without supervision. She wasn’t on school grounds though, so who cared. She couldn’t get in trouble for it, could she?

“Well, I’d say you are a lot stronger than I first thought. At first I thought it was the Trix with the lightning, so I made a detour to check it out.” Brandon said with a grin as he dismounted the bike and put the helmet on the seat.

“Detour?” Sunset asked, wondering where he was going.

“Yeah, I was heading over to the arcade to meet up with you.” Brandon said, leaning closer to Sunset only for her to stop him with a finger on his lips.

“That was a goodnight kiss after our date the other night, but if you want more you have to earn them.” Sunset said with a teasing grin. She noticed that the spark that she felt the other night was gone as was the draw towards him she felt. Not that her feelings were missing, she still felt very attracted to him and she really liked who he seemed to be and was eager to get to know him more. It was something to note though and worry about later.

“Well, then lets go at it right here.” Brandon grinned, making Sunset’s face explode into a fiery color similar to her hair.

“Don’t even joke about that!” Sunset hissed, taking a step back.

“What? Our weapons have a training mode built in. Activate them and all we would feel is a slight shock showing we were hit. We don’t have to go to an arcade for this.” Brandon chuckled, swallowing nervously as a fireball was held in front of his face.

“You did that on purpose!” Sunset growled out.

“Maybe just a little.” Brandon admitted, taking a step back from the controlled fireball with respect for Sunset’s abilities and a healthy dose of fear of her possible anger. “I just like seeing you blush, it’s cute.”

“When have you seen me blush?” Sunset huffed, dispelling the fireball and crossing her arms.

“A few times, like when we went back after facing off against the Trix. You looked like a tomato.” Brandon laughed, dodging out of the way as Sunset’s blade slashed through the spot he was just at. “Hey! Don’t forget to activate training mode first!”

“I’m sorry, is this better?” Sunset asked as flames crept up the magical blade only for Brandon to gulp in fear. “Okay, okay, sorry. Just a little payback. How do I activate training mode.”

“Here, I’ll show you.” Brandon said as he moved around her to lean over her so her back was against him as he reached around to show her a small panel that slid open. “These are the controls to switch between practice, capture, defense and attack.”

“What’s the difference?” Sunset asked, enjoying the position they were in. A part of her wanted to bask in it, to just lean back against him and feel safe and loved and wanted. Her rational mind managed to squash those feelings though as he explained it.

“Practice mode creates a softened blunt edge that will administer a small shock while not really leaving any damage behind. As the name suggests, it is for practice and sparring sessions. Capture is slightly similar as you don’t want to hurt your target, but the shock is stronger and will either absorb a magic creature's magic to subdue them when struck, or give them a more powerful shock to knock them out. This is mostly used for subduing magical creatures who may be out of control from being drunk or under a spell. Defense is also similar to them, but it cuts off the shock and magic draining as you are just distracting something by defending against it. And finally, we have Attack. As I’m sure you guessed, it’s used to attack. It will drain and block magic and will have full attack functionality with sharp edges for blades and piercing attacks for projectiles.” Brandon said, switching each mode on so Sunset could see the difference in her blade. Her sword started out very dim in color for practice to the point of almost being see-through, to being a brighter color like usual for attack.

“That’s easy to remember, thank you.” Sunset said as Brandon stepped back and tapped her in the back with his sword making her jump a little.

“One point to me.” Brandon grinned, making Sunset fume.

“How the hell do you figure that, you asshole!” Sunset demanded as she shot him an angry glare. “We didn’t start the match.”

“True for sparring matches there is an official start, but I intend to drill one thing into you Sunset.” Brandon said as he took up a serious stance. “You are good, there is no denying your scores on the simulator, but you are still a novice and I want you to be safe. I want you to take one thing to heart and remember it.”

“What’s that?” Sunset asked, unsure if she should be pissed off at Brandon’s audacity or touched that he actually cared enough to take this seriously.

“I don’t care what others will tell you, there is no honor in a fight. You work to end a fight as quickly and as safely to yourself and as safe as possible. Use anything and everything to your advantage to keep you and those you love safe. Unlike a duel, there are no rules in a fight and your opponent will be ruthless.” Brandon explained, his voice almost sounding like a drill instructor which made up Sunset’s mind. She felt touched that he was taking her seriously and seemed to be ready to teach her as well as spar with her.

“I understand, can you double check and make sure this is set right?” Sunset asked, holding her sword out toward him in a loose grip.

“Sure.” Brandon said, nodding as he stepped toward to take it only for Sunset to jab him with it when there was no chance for him to dodge, earning a squawk of shock from him. “Hey!”

“All’s fair in love and war.” Sunset grinned, making Brandon smile.

“I like that saying, it pretty much sums up what I told you.” Brandon mused as he got into a stance, Sunset following suit. What followed was over an hour of the two sparring without a winner as Brandon seemed to toy with her which pissed Sunset off extremely at first until she realized what he was doing. He was staying at a level barely just above her as he more or less guided her through action in practicing certain attack patterns and parries. He wasn’t just lecturing her, he was teaching her by how she learned best, by doing. Not that he knew that was her learning style, but he would be sorry for it one day when she surpassed him like she had every intention to.

“I have to admit, you are one hell of a teacher.” Sunset huffed, already tired from her magic practice with this physical exertion piling on top of it. She knew there was no way to score the final point, her body was getting slow and Brandon was still going strong.

“Thank you, you are one…hell?...of a student.” Brandon said, winking at her, “A sexy one too!”

“Flirt!” Sunset accused as she blocked another of his strikes, “You do know I’m going to win this, don’t you?”

“Not a chance, I’m getting that date!” Brandon said, dancing back and twirling his blade around to strike again which Sunset barely blocked.

“Well, we know you get to take me out if you win. What do I get if I win?” Sunset asked.

“How about a kiss?” Brandon suggested as he waggled his eyebrows at her, making her roll her eyes.

“You are making me regret this.” Sunset groaned out, “Is that all you want, a stupid kiss?”

“No, what I want is you. I want to get to know you, have a chance to be with you.” Brandon said, blocking a few of Sunset’s strikes. “Sunset, I meant it when I said you are the first girl whoever made me feel this way. I know it was love at first sight for me.”

“Lust at first sight maybe.” Sunset countered as she parried his blade, skipping back to get a breather.

“No, it wasn’t lust. Yeah, I was attracted to you, but I knew I wanted to get to know the avenging angel that took charge on the battlefield. The one who fought so hard to protect that whole school of helpless people despite how they hurt you. Sunset, you are one of a kind, and I’d do anything just for a chance to be in your life.” Brandon said with such passion Sunset couldn’t help believing him. She felt something similar to Brandon, a rush of feelings and emotions she never felt before that made her be bold and while the edge of the rush was now gone, her feelings hadn’t changed. They just seemed more real.

“Okay, if I win, I will be the one taking you out.” Sunset grinned, Brandon momentarily dropping his guard giving Sunset a chance to strike. Her blade just barely managed to squeak past his guard and was about to land the deciding strike when an explosion sent them flying in opposite directions.

“Look what we have here sisters, a couple of nobodies doing some sick kind of mating dance.” Icy snickered as energy crackled around Stormy’s fist where she just struck the area between the two duelists creating the explosion.

“I’m sorry, was that a bit much?” Stormy asked with mock worry.

“Don’t worry sister, I don’t think it was enough.” Darcy asked as a shuttle flew overhead and started to lower to the ground. “We better go.”

“Let this be a lesson to you fairy.” Icy snarled as she stomped up to Sunset who was just getting up slowly. “Don’t mess with us!”

“Icy, let’s go!” Darcy called worriedly before Icy kicked Sunset in the face, knocking her out. Brandon came running over toward them as Icy laughed, the Trix fading from sight as the rest of Brandon’s squad disembarked from the shuttle.

“What’s going on?” Riven asked as he looked to where the Trix just disappeared to where Sunset lay unconscious.

“I was sparring with Sunset when those witches attacked us.” Brandon groaned.

“Letting a stupid fairy distract you, pathetic.” Riven groused as he crossed his arms. Sunset’s groan got Brandon’s attention as he hurried over to check on her.

“You okay?” Brandon asked, about to ask Timmy to scan her for spinal injuries when she sat up.

“Only thing that hurts is my pride. Waiting until we sparred for over an hour to attack us, how pathetic can they be?” Sunset groaned as she rubbed her head. “By the way, I won.”

“You did not, I did!” Brandon said in shock, “Why are you worried about who won after what they just did?”

“I would have handed their asses to them if they didn’t show up.” Sunset said, pointing to the other guys including Riven who looked mildly impressed at hearing they sparred for over an hour. “Why did you show up?”

“Yeah, looks like you could have beaten them so easily while being knocked out cold.” Riven growled.

“Settle down guys, we came because we saw all of the fireworks earlier and were sent just to scout it out.” Timmy explained.

“I still won.” Sunset said.

“Did not!” Brandon groaned out at Sunset’s priority being who won instead of getting her possible injuries checked out.

Author's Note

A big thanks goes out to Sunny Scriber for editing this chapter and the awesome additions he added. Also, thanks to ScisetShimmerEvan and Seven Fates for showing me fixes than needed to be made.

I may have mentioned that the Trix are all first years earlier, if I did I'm sorry. Icy and Darcy are supposed to be second years in this story while Stormy is a first year.